I recently put a 600 Watt lower radiator hose heater on my daughter's 740 (1993 engine from a 940) with B230 non-turbo engine and since there is no thermostat in these heaters, I don't want to let the heater cook longer than necessary. I have no idea how long she should leave it plugged in at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower (that is when it is slow to start). It stands outside since there is no room in the garage. The car is in Northern Minnesota where it gets very cold.

It has Mobil 1 5W-30 oil in it and the service bulletin that rewires the firing of the cold start injector from the starter solenoid rather than the computer which didn't help any (Regina system). Every Regina system I have had on 1990 and 1991s (3 of them) B230 engines has been hard to start with cold weather. They will actually start and run for 3 or 4 seconds then quit. We know we are going to have a hard time starting the engine then. It seems like they are not getting gas but the problem remains even with new filters and fuel pumps (only 1 in the tank in these vehicles). I have changed fuel pressure regulators and checked fuel pressure (it was okay). Since all three of these have had exactly the same symptoms, I have to conclude this is a design problem.

Any other things you may have found to improve starting on these cars, other than the length of time to plug in the heater, would be appreciated.
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Mine: 2-940s, 3-740 and 1-940 parts cars, and 3 John Deere 630s, dtr1:3-940s, dtr2:2-740s